The people behind the “special browse” report — about an alleged plot to overthrow the government — must be identified, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said on Saturday.
“[We] will be very interested to see whether any of them are arrested and convicted,” Cosatu said in a statement.
The union federation was reacting to the government’s announcement that the outcome of a probe revealed that current intelligence services who were once part of apartheid secret services were behind the document, titled Special Browse ‘Mole’ Consolidated Report.
Director General in the Presidency Frank Chikane said on Saturday that predominantly members of the former apartheid-police special branch, military intelligence and national intelligence service, as well as people who had “relations or association” with these services, were responsible.
“There is a clear indication that there’s targeting and the targeting is on the African National Congress as the ruling party and the intention is to produce conflict within,” said Chikane on the intention of the people behind the “browse report”.
“You need to weaken the ruling party to be able to weaken the state and therefore the government,” Chikane told reporters at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
The “browse report” became public earlier this year alleging that several people — ranging from ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma to some former Umkhonto weSizwe veterans — were involved in plans to overthrow the government.
It included allegations that Zuma was being bankrolled by Libyan and Angolan leaders to oust President Thabo Mbeki and that Umkhonto weSizwe veterans had met to discuss plans to overthrow the government.
“It is quite clear that while some of the events cited actually occurred or are true, woven into them are provocative, deliberate and baseless allegations,” said Chikane.
Origin
The report was first given by the directorate of special operations to the national director of public prosecutions who, in July last year, sought the advice of the directors general of the South African secret service and the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on its contents. A preliminary assessment of the contents of the report by the NIA and secret service led to the conclusion that some of the content of the report was malicious and intended to create confusion.
Accordingly, none of the state organs conducted any investigations relying on the document. A different version of the report was leaked to a journalist six months later, in January this year. Subsequently, it was leaked to some leaders of the ANC and later to the general secretary of Cosatu.
“There is a considerable degree of clarity with respect to the role players involved in the leaks referred to above, their modus operandi and their intentions. Further, there is little doubt that the various leaks were deliberately orchestrated and timed,” said a statement released by the government on Saturday.
The statement added that the investigation had also established links between elements of the report and some of the emails in the hoax email saga. “This particularly relates to some of the themes as well as the background and modus operandi of the sources of the information.”
The investigation confirmed that some of the sources of the report “form part of wider networks of information peddlers who operate within our country as well as in other countries. In this regard they offer services to private businesses in the country and internationally as well as foreign intelligence entities.”
A number of countries in the Southern African region and in other parts of the world have fallen prey to the machinations of these peddlers, the statement said. “It has also been established that officials within some of the organs of the state are involved in exchanging sensitive information with these peddlers and some members of the media.”
Identities
Chikane did not give the names of the people the government believes were behind the allegations and said they would not immediately be charged. He added that it is not all former apartheid agents who were behind the effort.
“Even those who are worked in the old security police don’t like this; there are good people out there who were part of the old order who don’t like this,” he said.
However, he admitted that the unnamed group had succeeded in one of its aims, which was to create confusion.
“Their activities in the above regard have triggered considerable tensions, mistrust anxieties, confusion and deductions about conspiracies affecting numerous people both within government and outside government,” he said, adding: “People have learned a good lesson they now will know that you don’t start fighting each other and suspect each other because someone fed some information into your system.”
Intelligence and law-enforcement services will improve coordination among themselves and strengthen counter-intelligence operations, he said. Other departments will stop using external security services or individuals without vetting them first.
The government statement added: “We would also appeal to all South Africans, including the business community, members of political parties and employees of the state, members of the media and to our neighbours and beyond our region, to exercise maximum vigilance and subject any information that is inserted into their systems or institutions and in the public arena to a rigorous test.”